As uncertainty continues to swirl around the future of the Pac-12 Conference, it appears the Big Ten is taking the necessary steps to prepare for the possibility of future expansion.
According to recent reports, Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has been authorized to begin exploring what it would take to add current Pac-12 programs Oregon and Washington as potential new conference members.
FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt joined Colin Cowherd on Thursday’s airing of “The Herd” to weigh in on the Big Ten’s potential move.
“They [Oregon and Washington] fit in the Big Ten in a couple of different ways,” Klatt said. “The brand of Oregon football fits in the Big Ten. The academics of Washington fit in the Big Ten. In particular, when you take a look at what USC and UCLA are now on the West Coast, it also alleviates … a lot of those headaches of scheduling all the other sports. It makes more sense now than it did when USC and UCLA came in.”
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One area in particular that could lead to complications when it comes to adding Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten is revenue and what type of share the conference would be able to offer the two Pacific Northwest programs.
Big Ten considering adding Oregon & Washington, per report
Joel Klatt joins Colin Cowherd to discuss the latest news in college football. Klatt weighs in on the Big Ten possibly adding Oregon and Washington.
“There [are] two models that you can follow through Big Ten history,” Klatt said. “You’ve got what just happened with the two L.A. schools — full share right away — or you’ve got [the] Rutgers–Maryland model, which was half shares or a little bit more elevating … into full shares. It would probably be somewhere in between that. I don’t think they would come in on full shares right away, but this is a fascinating point because the other side of this is [that] the four corner schools — they could be headed to the Big 12 very soon. They could be looking for the lifeboats pending what happens in that Pac-12 meeting.”
According to Cowherd, the Big Ten’s decision to look into the addition of Washington and Oregon is a no-brainer.
“Oregon [has] got the Nike money [and] the Phil Knight connection,” Cowherd began. “Washington [has] been to a College Football Playoff recently and also has won a national championship. Both schools — when they get the right coach — win a lot of football games and become top-10 programs.
“The SEC is not slowing down. [It’s] going to add Clemson and Florida State the minute [it] can, and perhaps Miami. The only solution to keep up with SEC is [to] add good teams. You could scale back on five or six teams in the Big Ten and be stronger, but they’re not gonna do that. That’s not what school presidents and athletic directors do.”
Cowherd was strong in his belief that college football is starting to trend more in the direction of professional football, and that includes the recent expansion talks.
“You’ve got NIL, you’ve got [the] transfer portal, you’ve got coaches now making eight-figure salaries. … Major TV deals,” Cowherd said. “We’re gonna have two major conferences — the SEC and the Big Ten. Let’s be honest. Those have been the best two conferences in terms of revenue and TV appeal forever. It makes sense.”
[Related: Big Ten having preliminary conversations about expansion if Pac-12 crumbles]
Whether college football does indeed end up with two “super conferences” remains to be seen, but the dominoes do appear to be falling quickly. According to reports, board meetings covering the futures of Washington, Arizona and Arizona State have been scheduled for Thursday night. Arizona is reportedly weighing a decision of leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12, while Arizona State and Utah have also been discussed as possibly departing for the Big 12.
Klatt explained why the instability surrounding the Pac-12 all leads back to the conference’s current position surrounding an updated media rights deal — or lack thereof. The conference is hoping to keep its remaining members together with a deal that would make Apple TV the conference’s primary home, which was presented to conference members this past week.
However, Klatt is not confident Pac-12 schools will be on board with the deal.
“It’s not a deal that’s going to be sustainable for them from a revenue perspective or from an exposure perspective … it’s not going to work,” Klatt said. “Those members are now looking around thinking to themselves, ‘what are we going to do?’ You’ve got multiple schools trying to find a lifeboat.”
Klatt on next wave of conference realignment
Joel Klatt shares his thoughts on what comes next for the Pac-12, Big Ten, and Big 12.
While nothing has been made official as of Thursday afternoon, Klatt believes the moves are all but certain to take place.
“These are imminent moves,” Klatt said. “I believe the four corner schools — [Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado] — are going to the Big 12, and I believe Oregon and Washington are likely going to the Big Ten.”
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